Sea Tea

Hello Everyone,

As summer slowly comes to a close and the kids march back to school, the ocean waves and cool breeze of vacation can seem like a distant dream and a faded memory. So why not let those long sunny days at the beach be an inspiration for afternoon dinner and tea at home. Bring those favored moments to your table by using items you have collected at the beach.  Your table scape can be a wonderful collection of anything ocean themed such as sea shells, sailboats, star fish, jars filled with sand or sea grass as a bouquet.  The ideas can be endless and beautiful which will bring the feel of leisure and vacation to your table.  There is nothing that screams the ocean like the color blue.  I simply threw a white tablecloth over a table for elegance and contrast and used anything beachy and blue that I could find.  I was able to gather up some blue dishes, place mats, my favorite blue tea set, a sail boat, and some star fish. Finally, I was able to use a dish towel I had found on clearance at TJ Maxx that had a wonderful picture of a blue crab on it as part of my centerpiece.  With all of those items placed together it made a perfect touch for an inviting afternoon delight by the sea.  I hope this has inspired you to draw from your own memories of spending your cherished time on the beach home with you. 

God Bless,

Trina Belle

Birthday Lobster Bake

Hello friends,

This year for my birthday I decided I wanted to have a New England Style Lobster Bake. I was inspired by Kiel James Patrick's instagram. He is one of my favorite jewelry designers and travels up and down the New England coast taking gorgeous nautical photos. We strayed from the typical New England beach bonfire and had a backyard cookout.

We steamed potatoes, corn, crab legs, and lobster in a clean stainless steel trashcan. To accomplish this, we heated large rocks up in the trashcan for about 20 minutes (we filled up the bottom 10 inches of the trashcan). Then added water to just the top of the rocks and let it heat up for 20 minutes. We then added potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil and let them steam for 30 minutes. Afterwards, we added corn still in its shucks for 20 minutes. Finally, the lobster and crab legs were added for 25 minutes. Then it was time to feast!

The menu also included grilled chicken and hotdogs for children. In addition we had hot butter to dip the seafood in, Red Lobster biscuits, cupcakes, and brownies topped with ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and cherries. For drinks there was lemonade, tea, water, and pop.

One of my all time favorite games to play is croquet. Ever since I was a kid I have enjoyed the game. To me, it is a fun leisurely game that everyone can play and does not require a lot of explanation. So after the feast, we had croquet set up to play.



All in all, the food was amazing and the party was a success! If you are interested in steaming crab legs and lobster yourself, I suggest watching this YouTube video (we modeled our lobster bake off of this tutorial). It was super easy to cook and everyone loved the food!

Until next time,

Tilly

Tea on Blennerhassett Island

Hello Everyone,

There is nothing like stepping back in time and taking in America's past.  Nestled on an island in the middle of the Ohio River is the Blennerhassett Mansion.  Near Parkersburg, West Virginia this estate displays a timeless house that gives us a glimpse into America's frontier.  Although the island has a beautiful and placid atmosphere, its past is shrouded with mystery and a turbulent past.
Built by Harman Blennerhassett and his wife Margaret, they settled on the island in 1798.  Harman was a wealthy Irish Aristricrat who was trained as a lawyer and liked to tangle himself in political affairs.  Accused of a military enterprise with Aaron Burr in 1806, President Thomas Jefferson accused both men of treason and imprisoned them in the Virginia State Penitentiary.  Although both men were aquitted, there lives wer largely ruined.

The esquisite mansion burned down in 1811 leaving the outlines of a once beautiful but lost past.  However, modern archaeologist rediscovered its foundations in 1973.  The Blennerhasset mansion was carefully rebuilt to display the architectural history in the 1990's.

Any historical charm and environment can make tea and a picnic quite inviting.  Watching tour guides dressed in time period costumes gives the imagination quite a stir when invisioning how many picnics and tea parties might have been cherished on that landscape in times past.  We wanted not only the pleasure of learning a slice of history, but to feel engaged also.  We packed up a few tea and picnic items and placed them into a backpack.  Next, we were able to select some wonderful tea flavors and food items from our breakfast at our hotel.  Finally, we stopped and purchased some sandwhich items and chips that would complete a picnic and tea combination.  After touring the Blennerhassett Mansion, riding a horse drawn wagon, and renting bikes to tour the island, we laid out our tea and picnic display right in front of the mansion and enjoyed a delightful lunch.  I can't even tell you how wonderful it was to indulge in the quite treat.  When it was time to leave, we walked back to the river boat, the Island Belle, and enjoyed the lovely river tour back to Parkersburg.  This trip was an all around wonderful experience and I hope it has inspired you to do the same.

 

God Bless,

Trina Belle

Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes

Hello Friends,

Lately my father has been disliking me for baking so much. He is trying to diet and all my cupcakes are evidently getting in the way. However, I have a strong sweet tooth and have to have something sweet to eat. Therefore I compromised (slightly) by baking a chocolate cupcake that wasn't very rich. These cupcakes are a great alternative to some of my other cupcake icings that are high in sugar content. These cupcakes can be made rather quickly. There aren't very many steps involved which makes them pretty easy to make. All in all I thought my compromise was pretty well done, my father did not agree. Apparently these cupcakes are just as enticing, woops.

Recipe: 

          Ingredients

          - 1 box chocolate cake mix

          - 1/4 cup of sour cream

          - 4 egg whites 

          - 1 package of instant chocolate pudding mix

          - 2 cups of milk

          - 1 to 2 cups of cool whip

          - chocolate chips to garnish (optional)

         Directions

          - Mix the cake mix, egg whites, sour cream, water and butter/oil together. Use the same amount of butter/oil as directed on the back of the cake box. I like to add 1 and 1/4 cups of water to the mix instead of what the box says, but you can do either. Combining all of these elements together helps the cake to become super fluffy and moist.

          - Fill the cupcake pan up all the way to the top and back for 20-22 minutes.

          - While cupcakes are in the oven, gradually mix milk into the chocolate pudding mix.

          - The add one cup of cool whip to the icing. If you find the icing too thick, add another cup of cool whip (I added two cups.)

          - When the cupcakes are done baking, let the cool down and then icing them.

          - I ended up adding a couple chocolate chips to the top of the cupcakes just to make them look better, but this is totally optional.

          Additional Comments

          - Since I filled the cupcake pan up to the brim, this recipe made 15 cupcakes.

          - This icing recipe will leave you with plenty of icing to icing the cupcakes and most likely leave you with leftover icing.

         - These cupcakes should be stored in a refrigerated area because they have milk in the icing. 

         - This is probably one of the easiest cupcake recipes I have created because there are not very many steps!

Happy baking!

Tilly